“Know thyself.”
~ Plato

“Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.”
~ Albert Einstein

“The religion that is afraid of science dishonors God and commits suicide.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Classical Physics

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It isn’t hard to imagine primitive humans, sitting around a camp fire as they questioned the very basic elements that made up ALL of nature (earth, wind, water, and fire). From the very beginning, physics emerged as a mix of philosophy and mathematics aimed at defining the world around us. Early humans were at the mercy of nature more at that time, than ever in our history. Events occurred for which there was no understanding of cause, no ideas for avoidance, and no hope of control. And thus early physics was born, as mankind’s attempt to understand nature in the hopes of one day controlling it.

Classical Physics, born of those early humans, continued to look to nature as a machine, one that could be explained and predicted once its parts were understood. As part of nature, humans were also viewed as machines, deterministic in nature. Biology was viewed as mere mathematical processes that followed defined paths of interactions; thought, nothing more than the chemical responses to environmental stimuli. In essence, classical physics relegated the human spirit, or soul, to the outer realms of existence (or non-existence), defining life in a pure cause-and-effect structure best suited to control nature and satisfy physics’ birth right.

The Greeks

But the development of physics was not without issue. From the time of the Greeks, noted philosophers and scientists debated about the very essence of nature.

Zeno and Aristotle

Aristotle (384-322 BC) believed that things were controllable to some extent: that if, somehow, you could control what was happening at the beginning, you could smoothly and gradually watch the outcome evolve. It was a kind of controllable way of looking at nature through the lens of cause-and-effect.

On the other hand, Zeno pointed out that things didn't necessarily move or change in continuous ways, but possibly in discontinuous jumps. Zeno was known for the paradoxes he saw in all things, such as:

If a thing moves from one point in space to another, it must first traverse half the distance. Before it can do that, it must traverse a half of the half, and so on, ad infinitum. It must, therefore, pass through an infinite number of points, and that is impossible in a finite time.

So began the initial debate between whether things are continuous or discontinuous, which is the beginning of what we call quantum physics. Do things as we observe them in nature change smoothly or continuously? Or do they change abruptly and discontinuously? Which way do things actually go?

Discontinuous Quantum Leap

It turns out that when we are looking at the atomic realm, the realm where quantum physics emerges, we see that things are observed to move in discontinuous ways (or in jumps). Something jumps from here to a new spot…without going in between. And we see this happening at the atomic and sub-atomic level very evidently. This leads to what is called quantum mechanics.

Quantum Mechanics

With the emergence of Quantum Mechanics, a new ‘reality’ opened up, one that was as dissimilar from our everyday macroscopic world as Aristotle was from Zeno. Yet as more is learned about the quantum world, the more it appears that Zeno was the winner of the debate.

The Observer

The physical world, including our bodies, is a response of the observer. We create our bodies as we create the experience of our world.

One of the most astounding properties in the Quantum world came when science began to discover the true nature of Quantum particles. The concept of Wave Particle Duality has shown that depending on the nature of the experimental set-up, quantum particles exhibited the behavior of both waves and particles. The surprising result is that the results of experiments into whether a Quantum particle behaves as a wave, or as a particle, are independent of the experiment, but are completely dependent on the observation of the results. Even time and space has little meaning, as the results will follow that of the observer, even if the results are observed years later and thousands of miles away from where the experiment occurred.

But this observer cannot be merely a thing. All the measuring devices in the world will not force the particle behavior or the wave behavior - only a conscious observer will affect the results.

The Copenhagen Interpretation

The Copenhagen interpretation (proposed by Neils Bohr and Werner Heisenberg in 1927) begins with a paradox that our measuring devices and the concepts that we use to understand the quantum world are based in the macroscopic world of classical physics. Yet we are using these instruments and methods in the study of the Quantum world where they are not entirely appropriate.

Heisenberg stated that the result of this paradox, taken together with the Uncertainty Principle, is that we cannot make any concrete statements about Quantum particles between two sets of measurements.

The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle

The world of classical physics is one where we are able to measure any sets of quantities we choose by applying the appropriate set of measurement systems. An odd outcome of the quantum mechanics was that there are pairs of quantities that could not be simultaneously measured accurately. One example is that of position and momentum. If we choose to measure the position of an electron, then according to Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle, it is impossible to know its momentum exactly. The opposite is also true: if we know a particle’s momentum accurately, we cannot know its position. In fact, the more accurately we measure its position, the more uncertain we are of its momentum.

This uncertainty is NOT a function of the measuring equipment or the person conducting the measurements, but an inherent property of the quantum world.

So for example, if we measure the position and momentum of a Quantum particle at point A, and then measure the particle again at point B at a later time, we cannot make any concrete statement about what path might have been followed by the particle between points A and B. We cannot say what “happens” in reality between point A and point B. The notion of “happens” only occurs with the measurement, as shown in Wave Particle Duality. All that can be determined between the measurement at point A and point B is the tendency or potential for the particle to be at a particular position, or to have a particular momentum. The set of possibilities is a kind of statistical wave function known as the Schrodinger Wave Function. When the measurement occurs at point B, the tendency or possibility becomes an actuality. In other words, it becomes reality, which coincides with the collapse of the wave function. Thus reality does not exist except when the measurements are taken at points A and B. More importantly, it doesn’t exist between points A and B.

The Copenhagen interpretation of the quantum mechanics indicates that at a quantum level, reality only exists as a wave of possibilities. Reality is dependent on the observer; in fact, the observer creates reality. For until there is measurement or observation, reality only exists as a set of possibilities characterized by the Schrodinger wave function.

It is when we choose to observe an outcome that there is the collapse of the wave function into reality.

Since reality only comes into being as a result of the observation, it is predicated upon the fact that there is an observer to do the observation. The observer implies the need for consciousness.

This is the most revolutionary concept demonstrated by Quantum Mechanics, the full weight of which has not yet impressed itself upon humanity.

In the Beginning

At the very start of existence, there was but one atom, what science refers to as the primordial atom. Dr. Edward Tryon of Hunter College at the City University of New York, proposed that our Universe originated as a fluctuation of the Zero-Point Field (ZPF) on a large scale. The very early Universe was packed with unstable ZPF energy whose "anti-gravitational" effect expanded the Universe by a factor of perhaps 10⁵⁰ in just 10^-32 seconds. The result was that this primordial atom fractured and exploded outward to form the universe we see today. Quantum Entanglement has shown that two particles that originate from a single source particle are forever linked. Information is shared between the two particles across vast distances instantly, apparently violating the limit placed on the speed of light by Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. It is what prompted Einstein to call it ‘eerie action-at-a-distance’.

If the universe was created out of a single point at the big bang, then by implication all subsequent matter that ultimately resulted from the big bang over the estimated 13 to 20 billion years of the existence of the universe will be subject to the Quantum Entanglement. Hence everything in the universe is related to everything else, and will therefore be subject to this ‘eerie action-at-a-distance’.

The Startling Conclusion

"A religion old or new, that stressed the magnificence of the universe as revealed by modern science, might be able to draw forth reserves of reverence and awe hardly tapped by the conventional faiths. Sooner or later, such a religion will emerge."

Quantum Physics has shown that reality exists only in the presence of a conscious observer. Through Quantum Entanglement, all existence is joined through the Zero-Point Field, a field in which matter spontaneously appears and disappears, in which energy exceeds that of all the non-empty space in the Universe. In Wave Particle Duality, we see that we have the ability to affect reality, that through our conscious thought, we can change the very existence of matter.

The Universe began in a flash of energy, long before life began, long before conscious thought was manifest upon some yet formed rock called Earth?. Yet reality cannot exist without an observer, and particles do not exist without a conscious observer.

So answer the question for yourself – Who was the very first Conscious Observer that manifested reality? Who manifested us?

The Message That Comes From Everywhere: Exploring the Similarities Between the World's Religions and Modern Science ~ by Gary Beckwith Discover the truth about how all the world's major religions have the same common elements, and how Quantum Physics is now proving what the ancient religious texts have espoused for thousands of years. Gary Beckwith's fascinating book The Message That Comes From Everywhere is a must read for anyone who is interested in expanding their understanding of God and religion, and who wants to see a more peaceful world evolve. This book is required reading by the United Interfaith Institute, which of course speaks very highly for the quality of its message. From Gary's website: This is a simple guide anyone can understand, which discusses the similarities and bonds between all the world's religions. If we could stop fighting over whose God is the true God, maybe the world would be more peaceful. For centuries, religion has divided people and caused wars. Today, we have the power to realize that religion can bring us together. "This book is a brilliant discussion of the parallels of religions. If this book were required reading among religious leaders around the world, perhaps the wars fought over religious beliefs would end forever." -- Midwest Book Review, February 2002 "This book is a welcome enrichment in the field of comparative religion ... From dozens of quotations from the major religious groups we learn that the oneness of the Creator is expressed in all religions ... That view has a timeliness in wake of the blow that our nation received from terrorists." -- Rabbi Samuel M. Silver, The National Jewish Post and Opinion "I just finished this book and I have to say WOW! It really inspired me!" -- Laura K, Netherlands You can download a free chapter on Quantum Physics here: Download your FREE chapter from The Message That Comes From Everywhere Buy your E-book copy today for only $9.95 (Save $5 - Only available as an E-book from the Universe Of Power!) Or order The Message That Comes From Everywhere in paperback here! (Only $12.50 - which is $2.45 off the cover price!)